If a player is injured in OTAs, minicamp, or training camp, and is waived/injured, is the team responsible for a negotiated amount of a non-guaranteed contract?

So, if a player has a $5m non-guaranteed contract and suffers an ACL before the season starts and is out for the year, does the team have to pay the full salary? If so, why would a team waive/injure instead of putting a player on injured reserve (IR) if they have an injury that knocks them out for the season?

@edmastermind29 there is a difference, he's specifically asking why a team wouldn't keep a player on IR rather than waive them.
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wax eagleSep 2 '13 at 18:17

My question is about Waive/Injured and pay before the season starts. Are teams on the hook for a full season of non-guaranteed pay if the player suffers a season ending injury in team events BEFORE the season starts?
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BobSep 2 '13 at 20:19

2 Answers
2

Anyone making 5 million dollars a year will almost assuredly have an injury agreement paying them the full amount if waived or placed on IR - after a certain date in the season (for most start of OTAs or training camp). So that is why you don't see higher priced players being waived - teams have to pay them anyway.

They would rather keep track of their injury and keep a good reputation of player treatment. If they do waive a high price player the player goes through the waiver process. If no other team picks him up he is put on IR.

Why would a team waive a player? For players with lower salaries there is usually no guarantee for injuries. If the team didn't like what they saw, didn't like the attitude of the player, or whatever it may make sense to waive the player because they were going to do it anyway.

So when waiving a player the team has to basically prorate the injury time and pay a player accordingly. The player has to agree to this amount or they go through an arbitration process.

Most younger players basically go into three buckets.

Team gives them a wink and says we don't want to cut you so maybe your hamstring is really tight... IR time. They get to stash a talent on their team. That player can go to meetings, use facilities and everything all year. This is good for the player because they are getting paid and establishing a good relationship with a team/coach. Bad point here is that some team maybe could have played this player this year.

If that player said no to IR and team put him on practice squad then any team can make him part of their 53 man roster.

Player is considered borderline for the league. They get an injury but not long-term. Instead of milking 2-4 weeks pay out of a team they ask to be waived so they can be picked up by another team. If this player took an injury settlement then other teams might see damaged goods or a guy who is going to milk an injury settlement every time he gets dinged.

This player just isn't good enough to make a team. They should probably take any settlement they can get. They might not want to be around other teams until they are paid since no one can gauge their lack of value without seeing them.

As far as salary cap any waived player released on non-guaranteed contracts (no injury provision) will not count but this is a very small percentage of money in the league because there are almost always provisions in larger contracts.

Even guys with smaller contracts have their contracts guaranteed if they are on the roster for more than 3 weeks (53 man roster) or if they are on a roster after week 6. Why you see some teams bounce a guy and take him back early in the year.

Individual contracts vary but in most cases if he was injured prior to the naming of the final 53 man roster, the team would not be held to full contract. The same would apply if he is cut prior to the final 53 man roster. If it happened after he made the 53 man team then the team has other options. If injured they can place him on temporary IR and bring him back later. His contract still in place. Even if pout on permanent IR the player would still get paid his contract. If he was cut with no guarantees in his contract then no he would not get paid.